Nick Kyrgios has won his second ATP title after edging his way past three-time defending champion John Isner 7-6(3), 7-6(4), in the final of the BB&T Open in Atlanta.
In the match of the big servers, 36 aces was produced (18 each) throughout the match as both men refuse to lose their service. The consistency in the serving resulted in two critical tiebreakers, where Kyrgios was able to capitalize on his opponent’s vulnerabilities.
Kyrgios’ triumph has ended Isner’s run of 15 consecutive wins at the American tournament. It is the first time that the top seed has lost in Atlanta since the 2012 Semifinals, where he was edged out by Andy Roddick.
“Conditions were tough all week hot and humid. Against John it’s gonna be tough wherever you play him,” Kyrgios said.
“He’s been top 20 for so long, I don’t know how long, before I was born.”
And we have a new champ! @NickKyrgios takes the 2016 BB&T Atlanta Open crown with a 7-6, 7-6 win over #Isner pic.twitter.com/Jp5OSpWBKE
— BB&T Atlanta Open (@BBTatlantaopen) 7 August 2016
Grabbing his second ATP title of the year, Kyrgios is set to rise to a career high of 16th in the world rankings on Monday. The win comes six months after the 21-year-old won his maiden trophy at the Open 13 in Marseille. Both Marseille and Atlanta were ATP 500 titles, however, they are very different experiences for the Australian.
“In Marseille I was playing unbelievable. I thought I was 10-feet tall and unbeatable. It doesn’t matter who you put in front of me that week, I thought I’d pretty much crush ‘em.” Kyrgios said about his February triumph.
“This week was completely different. I was battling physically; wasn’t playing great at all at the start of the week. I came (to the tournament) probably off my worst career lost last week. I wasn’t in a good play at all, to be honest. I wasn’t expecting a title this week. I guess some things you can’t really explain.”
Kyrgios’ Atlanta dominance follows his shock loss to Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov at last week’s Rogers Cup.
LIVE on #Periscope: Nick Kyrgios Post Match Interview https://t.co/ETJik2ZHGE
— BB&T Atlanta Open (@BBTatlantaopen) 7 August 2016
